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Red Bull – 3 Day Metro Pass: Milan

May 8, 2017

The latest 3 Day Metro Pass from Red Bull has arrived. This time around Kriss Kyle, Jordan Godwin and Felix Prangenberg spent 3 days exploring the city of Milan, Italy! This city is loaded with incredible spots and it’s safe to say the three of these guys had no trouble stacking clips for this one. Check out the video below. You can also check out the full story and photos on the Red Bull Website.

“Cobblestones and BMX don’t really mix well – in fact, it straight-up sucks. The combination of a rigid frame and small wheels means your wrists really know about it after a long day riding around a city.
Italy is famous for its cobblestones and ancient buildings, so you’d be excused when wondering why the hell we went to Milan for the latest Three Day Metro Pass trip!
”

Filmed and edited by Hadrien Picard
Photography by Fred Murray

Photogallery – Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga – Practice

May 5, 2017

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Ben Wallace Lookback

All photos by Fernando Marmolejo

Ben Wallace cranking a lookback!

The Vans BMX Pro Cup has invaded Malaga, Spain for their 2nd stop of the year. The contest is going down at the Ruben Alcantara skatepark with some of the best Pro’s dropping in for some good times. Photographer Fernando Marmolejo was at Practice on Thursday and ended up catching a few rad photos of Dennis Enarson, Tom Dugan, Sergio Layos, Ben Wallace, Larry Edgar, Kevin Peraza, Jason Watts and more. Check out the photos and expect plenty more coverage from this contest!

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Tire Buzz

Tire buzzin’ the camera.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Dennis Enarson Air

Dennis Enarson blasting into the sky.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Dennis Enarson Canonball Barspin

Dennis Enarson Canonball Barspin

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Dennis Enarson Tire Slide

Dennis Enarson sliding his tire!

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Downside Tailwhip

Big downside tailwhip.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Gary Young and Crew

Gary Young, Dennis Enarson and crew taking in the views for Practice.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Greg Illingworth Turndown

Greg Illingworth cranking a turndown in a train.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Jason Watts Air

Jason Watts catching some hang time mid train.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Kevin Peraza Can Can

Kevin Peraza stretching a can-can!

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Kevin Peraza

Kevin Peraza taking in the sights while catching his breath.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Larry Edgar Air

There are a few guys you can count on going insanely huge, and Larry Edgar is always one of those guys!

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Sergio Layos 360

Sergio Layos has some of the best dipped 360’s at this park!

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Steve Crandall and Dennis McCoy

Steve Crandall and Dennis McCoy getting in front of the camera. These guys will be hosting the Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga contest this weekend!

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Tom Dugan 360

Tom Dugan with a big 360 over the hump.

Vans BMX Pro Cup Malaga - Tom Dugan Air

Tom Dugan blasting the quarter for a few cameras. It’s safe to say you’ll be seeing Tom going even bigger all weekend!

That wraps up this photogallery! Give photographer Fernando Marmolejo a follow on Instagram @MarmoPhoto. Also, make sure you give this a Share so your friends can check it out too! Keep up with everything from the Vans BMX Pro Cup right here!

Sunday Bikes “Grow Up” – Full Video

May 2, 2017

After a few weeks of premiering the sections from the Sunday Bikes “Grow Up” video, all of the sections are now online for your viewing pleasure. We’ve embedded every section from this BMX video all in one place for your viewing pleasure. Below you can find each section, along with some words from Sunday Bikes Team Manager Walter Pieringer about each rider and their section! This is absolutely amazing video, so check it all out below!

Intro

Brett Silva

“A conversation took place a couple of years ago between me and a few Sunday team riders. We were trying to decide if we should add Brett Silva to the team. At the time, it seemed like a great idea, and looking back, it’s crazy to think it was even a question. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Brett is consistently the most positive and hyped member of the Sunday team (and we’ve got a lot of positive and hyped dudes in the squad). They say hindsight is 20/20, and I can confidently say getting Brett involved with Sunday was a superb decision.

Back in the spring of 2015, when I first asked Brett if he wanted to be on the Sunday AM team, he told me, “There’s nothing I want to do more.” It was the perfect answer, and he wasn’t kidding – Brett’s been beyond stoked to travel and film with Sunday, and it’s easy to tell if you’ve seen his incredible Grow Up part, which you can watch right now at the top of this page.

And now, we’re welcoming Brett to the pro team. It’s a well deserved move for Mr. Silva, and we’re all very excited for him to be an even bigger part of Sunday.”

Jake Seeley

“There are a lot of innovative riders in BMX, but I think of Jake Seeley as having his own brand of innovation. Some riders take BMX in entirely new directions with wildly different moves, while Jake uses many of the same building blocks as other modern street riders, but in ways nobody else is coming up with. The result is some beautifully imaginative combos and a unique form of riding that’s at once grounded in tradition and refreshingly different.

Don’t think any of this comes easy. It’s not uncommon for Jake’s attempts at a clip to number in the hundreds; that’s not a testament to a lack of skill or ability, but to how hard what Jake’s doing really is, and to how dedicated he is to making the crazy shit he cooks up happen.

The other thing about Jake is he’s a perfectionist. Jake will try something 100 times, pull it nearly perfectly, hate one almost imperceptible detail, and give it another 100 goes. There are clips in his Grow Up part he landed seven or eight times, still wasn’t happy with, and we had to convince him to use. I don’t think I’ve ever filmed with a rider with such high standards.

But man, I gotta say it’s all worth it. Check out his part and you’ll understand.”

Gary Young

“Gary Young is 33 years old, has been a pro rider for 15 years, and is at the top of his game. It’s hard to understand how after so much time as one of the most skilled BMXers on the planet Gary’s abilities could possibly continue to improve, but there’s no question – he’s never ridden better.

A big part of Gary’s sustained upward trajectory comes from how he keeps it fresh. Gary is nothing if not adaptable: he continues to evolve with BMX and embrace new forms of riding and changing bike setups while still maintaining his core pedal-to-the metal style of hauling ass and charging through any obstacle in his path. Gary rides everything, and he rides it at full speed and with unmatched authority.

Perhaps even more impressive, while filming for Grow Up, Gary also managed to be a devoted husband, raise a young daughter, celebrate the birth of his son Lincoln, ride in the X Games twice, and film his epic Vans Illustrated video part. If you don’t think that’s incredible, you don’t have even a passing understanding of how hard any one of those things is. Seriously, Gary’s the man, and his Grow Up part is sick.”

“Next up we have the Grow Up doubles section. We had a lot of fun with this one, but make no mistake, some of these clips took hours to film, and there were some really close calls. I’m gonna say it was well worth it. ”

Aaron Ross

“Aaron Ross has been steady killing it as a top pro BMXer for more than a decade. That’s an impressive feat for any rider, but damn near unthinkable for someone who works as hard as Aaron. Check out his domination of the Grow Up crash trailer or his substantial contribution to the wrecks section in the Grow Up bonus, or just take my word for it – Aaron gives it his all. The physical and emotional anguish he endures for some of these clips is nothing short of breathtaking. But Aaron won’t be stopped, and he’s always willing to push himself to the limit to get done what he knows he can get done.

A great example: the barspin in Mexico, pictured above. It has to be one of the most impressive bike riding feats I’ve witnessed in 20-odd years of BMX. The barspin was wild in and of itself, but the conditions with which Aaron had to contend should have made it impossible. By the time he’d hopped the ledge a few times and was ready to throw the bars, there had to have been 100 people in that little square, most watching intently and filming with their phones while others carelessly cut him off on approach. Everybody spoke Spanish, and the language barrier meant Jake was having little luck playing crossing guard. The crowd booed when Aaron would take a run up. Imagine the pressure! Aaron got it done.

Aaron works hard on a lot of other things too. Between being a pro rider simultaneously filming for two full-length video parts (don’t miss his upcoming sure-to-impress Etnies Chapters part), a prolific social media enthusiast, a husband, a business owner (follow @burrocheese), and 100 other interests and endeavors I’m not thinking of, it’s hard to know how he finds enough hours in the day. Even with all that, Aaron has been known to personally answer almost every message and question sent to him over social media. Yep, he’s a pretty great guy too.

So check out Aaron’s part, it’s sick and the product of a lot of hard work.”

Julian Arteaga / Jared Duncan / Alec Siemon

“Julian Arteaga, Jared Duncan, and Alec Siemon – Sunday’s AM squad – are some crazy talented and creative bike riders who are each pushing BMX forward in their own unique way. Julian’s smooth and refined technical prowess, Jared’s uncanny ability to look like he’s not even trying, and Alec’s unprecedented tailwhip mastery are only the beginning of what makes these guys awesome. Grow Up focused mostly on Sunday’s pro riders, but there’s no question all three of these guys could have filmed full parts had they been given the opportunity. Rest assured, they’ll get their time to shine.”

Mark Burnett

“Shooting with Mark Burnett is a treat. As soon as Mark says he wants to film something, three things are already assumed: it’ll be really really hard, he’ll pull it, and it’ll be perfect.

This young man is unbelievably confident on his bike and will casually fire out hyper-elaborate tech combos and the most dangerous and intimidating stunts without breaking a sweat. Mark has this extraordinary ability to set aside any fear and lingering doubts and fully commit to every go. I guess it’s easy to be confident when you’re as comfortable on your bike as Mark clearly is.

It’s not hard to see how Mark rides at such a high level – his enthusiasm for riding is virtually unmatched. He’s always the one pushing for the night mission after a long day of filming, and he’ll happily solo sesh his flat rail for hours on end. His energy is seemingly limitless, and it spreads easily. Mark brings a lot of life to any situation.

Even with his abundant skill, Mark works for it. He’s constantly pushing his limits – it’s fair to say he goes down harder and more frequently than anyone else on the team (he has the ender crash section in the Grow Up bonus), but the struggle is no match for his determination. Mark shrugs off the most brutal wrecks and keeps going until he lands it or physically can’t continue.

Mark’s natural ability, boundless energy, unstoppable drive, and sheer love of riding make him the ultimate video part filming machine. These characteristics, matched with the nearly 100 days he spent on the road shooting for Grow Up, create a sort of perfect storm for an epic video part, and you really should check it out.”

Chris Childs

“Shooting with Chris Childs can be a harrowing experience. Chris pedals fast, jumps far, airs high, grinds big… there’s plenty of potential for catastrophe, but I get the sense I’m usually more concerned than he is.

The word “casual” gets thrown around a lot when describing highly-skilled bike riders, but Chris is the poster boy for casual. Chris routinely fires out the craziest shit like it’s nothing; I’ve never seen anything like it. Even after years of filming with him, I’m still taken aback by the caliber of the stunts he’s dreaming up, and perhaps even more so by his carefree attitude towards them. For the incredible amount of risk Chris is taking, he’s cool as a cucumber.

With Chris there are usually no run ups and no second tries. Even on the rare occasion he’s actually sweating something, more often than not it’s one and done. The last five tricks in his part were all first try. That’s unheard of.

You see, Chris may send wild moves on the reg, but he’s no hucker. To the contrary, Chris thinks through everything he does, and if he calls something out you know it’s been fully analyzed and deemed within his capabilities. When you’re messing with as much speed, distance, and gravity as Chris is, you can’t be rolling the dice.

Aside from its sheer magnitude, the other striking thing about Chris’s riding is its diversity. Chris can do it all – the biggest gaps, drops, wallrides, and rails, put together a flat ledge line, trick every jump at the trails, flow a ramp like it’s nobody’s business – Chris feels at home on all terrains and at all speeds, even if his preferred mode is hauling ass.

But to me, the best thing about watching Chris ride is that as calculated and dialed as he may be, he pushes it to the limit and sits right on the line between in control and total disaster. His riding has a certain looseness to it that keeps you on the edge of your seat and just a little bit scared for his life. It’s that little bobble, that extra bit of seemingly accidental kickout that gives his riding so much character and makes it so goddamn entertaining.

And, Chris is a true renaissance man. When not effortlessly dominating his bicycle, he spends his time making music, painting, filming and editing BCAVE videos, and enjoying a whole slew of other creative interests that keep his mind productive. He’s also a solid dude and one of the most easygoing people you could ever hope to travel with, and while I don’t have any actual tallies, he probably spent more time on the road filming for Grow Up than anybody else. Watching his part, it’s easy to see that dedication.

Chris has an immense amount of control over his bike that, combined with his innate fearlessness and abundant creativity, makes him capable of just about anything. So sit back, relax, and enjoy Chris’s part, and don’t worry, he (mostly) made it through just fine.”

Erik Elstran

“It’s easy to see Erik Elstran is a free spirit. Take one look at whatever colorful and delightfully eccentric outfit he’s sporting at any given moment (that he probably sewed himself), and it’s pretty clear this guy isn’t trying to run with the herd.

Watching him ride, it’s even easier to appreciate the breadth of Erik’s fertile imagination. Erik can do whatever he wants on his bike, and he chooses not to do what everyone else is doing. Erik could be a tech rail master or flat ledge god if he wished, stacking the usual tricks in new and innovative ways and linearly progressing BMX in standard increments, but he is destined for so much more.

You can always count on Erik to see a spot where no one else has and look at a classic spot in ways others haven’t. Erik’s M.O. is to seek out and locate a unique spot, and then do the unthinkable on it. Never content to simply make do with the obvious, it’s his determination to go above and beyond, to carve his own path and dream up ideas no one else would ever think of, that defines Erik’s riding.

Erik has more fun on his bike than anyone I know. He’ll happily ride the most ridiculous non-spot as hard as he can for hours, or, even more impressively, be 100 tries in filming some impossible trick and still laughing and cracking jokes. Even when riding at the highest possible levels, he’s really just playing around. While cataloging footage for Grow Up, I discovered Erik had – by far – the most B roll of anyone one the team, and nearly all of it was him being stoked and goofing off. Erik possesses a singular positivity and enthusiasm for living that radiates outward and inspires those around him.

It takes something very special to end a two-year full-length team video, and special is about the best word I can think of to describe Erik’s section. What Erik does is more than just bike riding; this borders on performance art. So go ahead and check out his part; I dare you not to smile.”

“We hope you’ve enjoyed watching Grow Up as much as we enjoyed making it.”

That wraps up the “Grow Up” DVD from Sunday Bikes! Check out more from Sunday Bikes right here!

Taj Mihelich – Life After Pro

May 1, 2017

Here’s one we’ve been waiting for since we heard the project was in the works! Here is the story of Taj Mihelich and what life is like after being a professional rider. There’s not much that hasn’t already been said about Taj over the years, but his undeniable impact on the BMX industry from being a professional rider to being co-owner of one of BMX’s most respected brands,Terrible One, to becoming an artist and starting Fairdale. This covers everything from how he got into BMX, his Pro career, starting his brands, his back injury that ended his career and more. Taj might be living in northern Michigan and living a more low key life, but his impact is still very much a part of BMX today. Take a look! Amazing story and excellent riding!

“One of the most influential riders in the history of BMX, Taj Mihelich took a less is more, passionate approach to everything he did. After a chronic back injury forced Taj to put down the BMX bike, he’s found a new direction…here’s the story of the legendary Taj Mihelich and his Life After Pro.

Filmed/edited by Chris Rye.” – Ride BMX

Vans – “Illustrated” Bruno Hoffmann / Dan Lacey Section

April 28, 2017

Vans have released Bruno Hoffmann’s “Illustrated” video part online!

It’s Friday… Doesn’t get much better than that! Wait, it does! Vans have just uploaded Bruno Hoffmann‘s section from their “Illustrated” video online for your viewing! As you probably know by now, this section is packed with some incredible riding with plenty of insane grind combos and plenty of freecoaster action. Bruno put in some serious miles for this one and ended up coming across a ton of amazing spots that he was able to go to work on. If that isn’t good enough, there are even a handful of Dan Lacey clips mixed into this one. If that doesn’t make you want to to give this BMX video a watch, you’re insane! Hit that play button!

Watch more from “Illustrated” here…

Calvin Kosovich “Illustrated” Section

Ty Morrow “Illustrated” Section

Sean Sexton and Brian Kachinsky “Illustrated” Section

Jason Watts “Illustrated” Section

Kevin Peraza “Illustrated” Section

Pat Casey, Cory Nastazio and Tyler Fernengel “Illustrated” Section

“Illustrated” Utah Section

“Illustrated” La Familia Section

Scotty Cranmer “Illustrated” Section

“Bruno Hoffmann presents one of his most technical street parts today and with a visit from Dan Lacey, the two riders are non-stop, stacking clips late into the night from Australia to Lisbon to Albuquerque. One of the most influential riders in the past five years, Bruno has pushed street lines to unreal levels with his mix of switch grinds and freecoaster riding.” – Vans

BMX Geometry Shirt and Mug

April 26, 2017

BMX Geometry Shirt

After we posted up the long winded post about the possibility that there is an Over Saturated Frame Market the other day, it got us thinking about a t-shirt design we had been bouncing around as an idea for a little while but never got around to finishing. It was pretty simple, just a frame with the different geometry features marked. We had a rough design done and tossed the idea to our friend Brant Moore to see if it was worth doing or not. He ended up cleaning up the drawing a bit and we finished up the final details and ended up with this design. We figured we might as well toss up in the store to see if people are into it! Today, we released BMX Geometry Shirt in our STORE. You can pick it up in black or you can go Light with white, yellow and Ash grey colors. Both are available in sizes Small through XXL for $19.99.

Update: We also have the BMX Geometry MUG available in 11 and 15 oz. sizes. Details below!

Want a deal? Take 10% OFF with discount code “10off” at checkout!

BMX Geometry Shirt

Big thank you to everyone who picks up a shirt or mug. Every sale goes back into the site 100% with supporting designers, filmers, photographers and writers that contribute to BMX Union. Check out more of our shirts in the SHOP!

Over Saturated BMX Frame Market?

April 24, 2017

Have you ever wondered how many different frames there are available? Is there an over saturated BMX frame market?

Wethepeople Revolver - over saturated BMX frame market
The new Wethepeople Revolver frame will soon be joining the options available.

This past weekend a post on Instagram by Dale Holmes pointed out that the Race BMX Frame market is heavily saturated with at least 86 different frame options available. We’re assuming that’s just frame options, not necessarily individual brands, but maybe we could be wrong. Either way, It got us thinking about all of the frame options that are currently available on the freestyle side of things and how many brands there are making frames…

The last count according to @mikecarruth for current race frames available globally is an over-saturated 86! While reading some old magazines I came across this one in BMX Action July 1988 with "An Extensive Evaluation Of Eleven Top Garage Companies". The article talks about how all Eleven companies support riders, teams and racing, all in demand and usually sell their frames as fast as they can make them. How times have changed!! #oldschoolbmx

A post shared by Dale Holmes Racing (@daleholmesracing) on Apr 23, 2017 at 8:47am PDT

We decided to try and remember or find every brand that currently make BMX frames. We scoured the internet for quite a while to figure out every brand and we’re pretty sure this list is fairly complete, give or take a few due to them either being dead, but still have a website or just us not thinking of them. We’ve even included a few custom frame “brands” that do custom frames. Let’s go over this list quick. We tried to get it in alphabetical order, which should help figure out if we missed any… Ready? Here we go…

BMX Frame Brands

1. Alone
Autumn Bikes
Blank Bikes
Bone Deth
BSD
Colony
Credence (Technically S&M, but we’ll still count it as its own thing since)
Cult
Deluxe
Division Brand
DK Bicycles
Eastern Bikes
Eighties Bike Co.
Ene Ene Bikes
Faction
FBM
Federal Bikes
Fiend
Fit Bike Co.
Flybikes
Fungus Bikes
GT Bicycles
Haro
Hoffman Bikes
Hyper Bike Co.
Impurity
Indust
Ketch Bikes
KHE Bikes
Kink
Kis Bike Co. (Done?)
Laird Frame
Limit Fabrications
Macneil
Mafia Bikes
Mankind
Mongoose
Mutant Bikes
Mutante (Ehh?)
Mutiny
Nowear BMX
Pedal Driven
Premium
Proper Bike Co.
Radio Bikes
United
Salvo Bikes
SE Bikes
S&M Bikes
Social Bike Co.
Standard Bykes
Stolen
Stranger
Stout Bikes
Stress
Subrosa
Sunday
Tall Order
Tempered Bikes
The Make
The Set
The Take (Does FBM still fire these out?)
Terrible One
Total BMX
Verde
Volume Bikes
Wethepeople
68. WHTHOUS

That’s 68 DIFFERENT BRANDS that offer at least one aftermarket BMX frame, and we’re sure people will immediately chime in with brands we forgot (Do it, please!). Many of those brands offer more than two different options, some have four… S&M Bikes have 13 between their different freestyle frames (20″, 22 and 24″). That doesn’t even count all the different frame sizes and color options or custom frames! We’ll just guess and say the average is 3 frames (excluding TT and colors). That’s VERY roughly around 204 different frames. We would imagine it is far more than that, but that would require a lot of time to go through each brand and figure out how many options each brand has.

How many BMX riders are there, even?

I’m sure somebody out there could provide a pretty decent guess at how many freestyle BMX riders there are in the world, but we honestly have no idea. We have featured thousands of riders on the site from the 30,000+ posts we have done over the last 10 years and we’ve had millions of unique visitors on the site in that time, but to be able to accurately guess how many freestyle BMX riders there are in the world and how many are buying an aftermarket frame? I’m pretty sure brands would be willing to pay for accurate information like that, haha.

Geometry

When it comes to BMX frames, the geometry has been narrowed down and only a few degrees, millimeters or centimeters really separate the vast majority of frames when it comes to design. Don’t get us wrong, we know the importance of BMX Frame Geometry and how much each of those small changes can factor into the way a BMX bike rides, but there is only so much room that the majority of riders fall into.

Features

One of the biggest differences in BMX frames are some of the features they offer. Whether it’s gussets, special tubing or tubing styles like tapering, integrated chain tensioners, custom stay bridges and wishbones, unique graphics and more. Those minor details are usually the easiest way to differentiate frames these days.

Quality

When it comes to manufacturing quality, it’s pretty amazing how far things have come, too. You don’t see BMX frames breaking like they used to when guys like Mat Hoffman were on the verge of saying screw it and starting their own brand so they didn’t have to worry about how many frames they will break in a single week. Many BMX frames last riders more than a year these days, and some much longer than that. Sure, there are some really gnarly guys out there that can destroy a frame in a short period of time, but it’s nowhere near as common as it used to be.

Sales?

How many frames do brands sell? That’s another pretty impossible question to answer considering brands aren’t likely to disclose that information, especially to a guy like me, haha. We can assume a brand like Cult sells a lot more than let’s say… (Scrolls through list)… The Make. Obviously both brands have much different missions with their brands, so it’s not like these two can really be compared, but there is a big difference in the volume of BMX frames being produced and sold between each brand. We’re also pretty sure some brands we would assume sell a ton of frames, don’t sell nearly as many as we would imagine.

Are there too many BMX frames?

Is the BMX frame market oversaturated? Based off what we’ve heard from different brands over the past, well, decade, that answer would be yes. Is that a bad thing? It depends on how you look at it. From a brand standpoint it sucks because you could have an amazing product, but you’re competing with nearly 60 other brands. From a rider standpoint, it’s awesome. You have more options than you probably even realize, geometry options for every possible style of riding you want to do, more colors than a 152 pack of Crayola Crayons and sizes that fit 20″, 22″ and 24″ bikes. Another perk is it helps keep prices down because no brand wants to over price their product and miss out on sales, too. On the flipside, that sucks for brands because the margins are thin and in reality, they aren’t making that much on each frame.

Do we think there are too many options? I mean, that’s kind of a hard question to answer. It’s a free market and the barrier to entry is basically this… Do you have the money to get the frames made? Finding a place to have frames made isn’t exactly rocket science. No brand is going to tell you “this is where we have ours made, we’re sure you could get yours made there too!”, but then again you have plenty of options between the U.S and Taiwan to get a frame produced. It’s not exactly hard to figure out what features and geometry to go with, either.

Is there room for more?

I wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from pursuing their dream of starting their own brand, but it’s probably not the best time to throw your hat in the ring to start a brand, unless you have something unique that will help you standout. Whether it’s a unique product, a badass team or something that allows you to really reach a lot of riders like a massive Youtube channel (Adam LZ already has the signature frame from Stranger)… If it was as easy as just having the money, this list would likely be 10 times longer because what rider hasn’t considered starting their own BMX brand?

We have seen a lot of brands in BMX come and go in the past and we’ve seen many weather the ups and downs, continuing to produce quality products, supplying shops and riders around the world. Hell, we have seen brands that we thought would have been gone a long time ago and we have seen brands that we always thought would be around get shut down. We’ve seen some heavy budget cuts that left brands almost seem non-existent and we have seen some really talented people in the BMX industry move on to greener pastures. It’s not going to be as easy as slapping your sticker on a frame with the same geometry and features as 10 other frames out there.

Okay, let’s wrap this up. The whole point of this was to talk a little bit about something that most riders probably don’t think about and maybe get some discussion going. Yeah, you can flip through the Dan’s Comp catalog (Don’t act like you don’t get it in the mail) and say “Wow, they have a lot of frames”, but even they don’t have every options available. It’s even harder for a smaller, local shop that doesn’t have that option to carry a ton of different frames. Every rider out there has their own preference or style and reasons for riding a specific frame. Maybe it’s because it’s made in the U.S.A, or it’s their favorite Pro’s signature frame… Maybe the geometry or the features is what they like? Maybe it’s super light and ideal for flip and tailwhip combos, maybe it’s geared toward nose manuals and grinds, maybe it’s something you can hit the trails, a skatepark and street spots and it feels awesome on everything. If there’s something you want, it very likely already exists.

There’s plenty of reasons for so many options…
Do you think things are “oversaturated” or not so much?
How many riders do you think there are around the world?
What frame do you ride and why?
Did we miss any brands?
What’s something you wish a brand would do with a frame that doesn’t exist yet?

On the hunt for a new frame? Check out these BMX frames.

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Sunday Bikes – Erik Elstran “Grow Up” Section

April 24, 2017

Erik Elstran is here to blow your mind…

We know there is a bunch of you that have been waiting for this one! Sunday Bikes just released Erik Elstran‘s section from their “Grow Up” DVD online for your viewing pleasure! If you’re looking for creative, amazing and unique riding… This is the BMX video for you! Hit that play button and enjoy!

After you watch that, check out more from “Grow Up” here…

Chris Childs “Grow Up” Section

Mark Burnett “Grow Up” Section

Julian Arteaga, Jared Duncan and Alec Siemon “Grow Up” Section

Aaron Ross “Grow Up” Section

“Grow Up” Doubles Section

Gary Young “Grow Up” Section

Jake Seeley “Grow Up” Section

Brett Silva “Grow Up” Section

“Grow Up” Intro

“It’s easy to see Erik Elstran is a free spirit. Take one look at whatever colorful and delightfully eccentric outfit he’s sporting at any given moment (that he probably sewed himself), and it’s pretty clear this guy isn’t trying to run with the herd.

Watching him ride, it’s even easier to appreciate the breadth of Erik’s fertile imagination. Erik can do whatever he wants on his bike, and he chooses not to do what everyone else is doing. Erik could be a tech rail master or flat ledge god if he wished, stacking the usual tricks in new and innovative ways and linearly progressing BMX in standard increments, but he is destined for so much more.

You can always count on Erik to see a spot where no one else has and look at a classic spot in ways others haven’t. Erik’s M.O. is to seek out and locate a unique spot, and then do the unthinkable on it. Never content to simply make do with the obvious, it’s his determination to go above and beyond, to carve his own path and dream up ideas no one else would ever think of, that defines Erik’s riding.

Erik has more fun on his bike than anyone I know. He’ll happily ride the most ridiculous non-spot as hard as he can for hours, or, even more impressively, be 100 tries in filming some impossible trick and still laughing and cracking jokes. Even when riding at the highest possible levels, he’s really just playing around. While cataloging footage for Grow Up, I discovered Erik had – by far – the most B roll of anyone one the team, and nearly all of it was him being stoked and goofing off. Erik possesses a singular positivity and enthusiasm for living that radiates outward and inspires those around him.

It takes something very special to end a two-year full-length team video, and special is about the best word I can think of to describe Erik’s section. What Erik does is more than just bike riding; this borders on performance art. So go ahead and check out his part; I dare you not to smile.” – Walter Pieringer

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